Burke County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

2,990

100.00%

2,241

100.00%

In Poverty

551

18.43%

344

15.35%

Not in Poverty

2,439

81.57%

1,897

84.65%

11 Years and Under

437

14.62%

284

12.67%

In Poverty

109

3.65%

55

2.45%

Not in Poverty

328

10.97%

229

10.22%

12 to 17 Years

295

9.87%

183

8.17%

In Poverty

54

1.81%

26

1.16%

Not in Poverty

241

8.06%

157

7.01%

18 to 64 Years

1,553

51.94%

1,218

54.35%

In Poverty

239

7.99%

171

7.63%

Not in Poverty

1,314

43.95%

1,047

46.72%

65 Years and Above

705

23.58%

556

24.81%

In Poverty

149

4.98%

92

4.11%

Not in Poverty

556

18.60%

464

20.71%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.